BAY AREA ORGANIZERS RALLY AGAINST TRUMP, DEMAND TECH GIANTS WITHDRAW THEIR SUPPORT OF THE RNC

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Tomorrow, organizers from the Anti Police-Terror Project, Black Lives Matter Bay Area, BYP100 Bay Area, and the BlackOUT Collective are rallying in anticipation of Donald Trump’s visit to San Francisco. Trump, who is scheduled to speak at the Hyatt Regency near SFO, uses dog-whistle rhetoric to spur violence against people of color. More than 1,000 people have RSVP’d to “Turn Up on Trump” ready to show the racist front-runner that he and his politics are not welcome in California.

“Hate has no place in the democratic process,” said Cat Brooks, organizer and founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project. “Black communities and all communities of color deserve a democracy that respects our vote, our vision and our values not one that denies our dignity and betrays our basic humanity.”

In addition to encouraging violence, Trump has a long and storied history of racism. This election season, despite an uptick in violence against communities of color, he’s been adamant in his appeal to give more power to the police. He panders to white supremacists and anti-Semites like David Duke, who believe white people and people of color should not integrate, and he has on many occasions pejoratively referred to people of African decent as ‘the Blacks” and people of Latin decent as “the Hispanics.”

Organizations like Color of Change have condemned Silicon Valley tech giants like Google, AT&T, and Microsoft for bankrolling the Republican National Convention (RNC) and Donald Trump. These companies, who profit from the labor and consumerism of Black people, have been asked to cancel sponsorships, monetary and in-kind donations to both Trump and the RNC.

“The RNC is spreading and encouraging a culture of hate and racism,” said Robbie Clark, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Bay Area. “Donald Trump represents the vile underbelly of American democracy by where Black people are both disenfranchised and disregarded. People drive the democratic process, not corporations. Black people deserve a democracy that serves us.”

Last month in Fayetteville, NC, a Black Lives Matter protestor was punched in the face by a Trump supporter. Just a week earlier in Louisville, KY, another Black woman was shoved around by a gang of white Trump supporters. Donald Trump incentivizes vigilantism, making public spaces unsafe for Black people.

“Donald Trump, with his racist rhetoric, has misused his platform to unearth America’s hate. We’re sending Trump packing, along with his anti-Black, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim politics. California will not be Trumped,” said Wazi Davis, an organizer with BYP100 Bay Area.

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BYP100 is an activist member-based organization of Black 18-35 year olds, dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. We do this through building a network focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy and education using a Black queer feminist lens.

Young black organizers seek to “Reclaim MLK” and discuss racism in school discipline in DC

Washington, D.C. – For many, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a time to participate in community service and reflect on the legacy of Dr. King- and the remembrance of this legacy often focuses on King’s advocacy for non-violence and his dreams of a racially integrated nation.

For members of the DC chapter of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), and other black organizers across the country participating in a weekend of action using the hashtag #ReclaimMLK, the holiday is a time to highlight the radical side of Dr. King and his vision for economic justice.

“We are reclaiming the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, which is a radical one, and connecting it to issues of economic justice in DC” said BYP100 DC co-chair Jonathan Lykes. “His last days were spent among street sanitation workers demanding dignity and fair pay for their work.”

BYP100 members participated in the annual Peace Walk and parade down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on Monday, handing out fliers for The Agenda to Build Black Futures, a set of economic justice policy recommendations for which the organization recently announced a release date of February 1st. The agenda covers issues of workers rights, equal pay, divestment from prisons, economic discrimination against trans people and the formerly incarcerated- and reparations.

“MLK said “You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars,” noted lead BYP100 organizer Je’Kendria Trahan. “Structural reparations for structural racism isn’t an outlandish ask.”

At the end of the parade, the organizers hosted a School to Prison Pipeline Speak-out in front of Leckie Elementary, collecting stories of people’s experience with school discipline in DC. The chapter is currently running a campaign to address the school to prison pipeline in DC public and charter schools.

In 2012-2013 African-American students in D.C. public and charter schools were almost six times more likely to be disciplined as white students. At DCPS middle schools, 1 in 3 students were suspended at least once, and some DCPS middle schools recorded more suspensions than students.

“Instead of policing students in schools with School Resource Officers (SROs) and attempting to pass so-called crime bills, we urge the Administration to build black futures by investing that money in restorative justice programs to make schools safe spaces for all students to learn.” said Preston Mitchum, BYP100 DC Policy co-chair. “We are out here this afternoon imagining together a city without suspensions, where no student is disposable. What would that take? What alternatives would we need to create? We have to figure that out because anything less is funneling Black youth into the school-to-prison pipeline, and is harmful to King’s legacy.”

Earlier this weekend, members of BYP100 partnered with Black Lives Matter DMV, ONE DC, and other local black organizing groups to host a “go-go civil disobedience” party in front of the Reeves Center to draw attention to the city’s role in the displacement of black people and culture from DC.

“Today culminates a weekend of actions across the country by organizers and activists committed to reclaiming, sustaining and uplifting the real legacy of MLK and the liberation of Black people.” said Biola Jeje, another BYP100 member. “We’re here to turn up, learn more about our DC community, and connect with others on how we can achieve black liberation together.”

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Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) is an activist member-based organization of Black 18-35 year olds, dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. We do our work through a Black queer feminist lens. We are affiliated with the Black Youth Project.

Detroit Group Reclaims MLK Day: Who’s The Money For?Detroit Chapter of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) demands public money to be used for all Detroiters, not just some

DETROIT – As part of a national weekend of action to reclaim Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and highlight MLK’s radical economic justice platform, the Detroit chapter of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), is holding various actions across the city to highlight the lack of investment in the neighborhoods of Detroit.

“We are out this weekend to highlight the fact that majority of Detroiters, especially Black Detroiters, are not experiencing a ‘resurgence,” said Kevin Rigby Jr., BYP100 Detroit Chapter. “Hundreds of millions of dollars are going to build a hockey arena and three-mile people shuffler. Who’s the money really benefiting?”

The group is holding actions in the city to bring light to the fact that more than $265 million in taxpayer dollars is financing the construction of the new hockey arena, nearly 60 percent of the project’s cost. They also aim to bring attention to the M-1 rail, which while significant amounts of private funding is going to fund the short three-mile rail project, $37.2 million is coming from local, state, and federal funds, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.

“Those associated with the M-1 Rail will claim that this short hopper will help folks living in the New Center neighborhood, yet the rail line does not extend into the neighborhood,” said Marcia Black, BYP100 Detroit Chapter Secretary.“Who’s this really for? Those leading this project will tell you that in terms of expanding this project, ‘build and more will come’. Detroiters deserve and demand more than that pipe dream.”

Efforts this weekend follow BYP100’s announcement of its upcoming release of the Agenda to Build Black Futures. The Agenda to Build Black Futures, the organization’s second public policy agenda, is a platform for young activists seeking to create a new economy where young Black people can thrive.

“We need public dollars to go to things that will provide a large positive impact on the quality of life for Detroiters. Better schools and large-scale, equitable public transportation projects are just a few of many,” Black continued. “A hockey area and a Midtown-Downtown hopper are not the answers; not even close.”

The full Agenda to Build Black Futures will be available to download online on www.byp100.org on February 1, 2016.

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Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) is an activist member-based organization of Black 18-35 year olds, dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. We do our work through a Black queer feminist lens. We are affiliated with the Black Youth Project.

The Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) and is where staff and BYP100 members engage their community in organizing, direct action, political education, and leadership development. Contributions made here are tax deductible.